Blue Coat Systems Inc., a maker of Web security and WAN optimization solutions, said that it is once again a private-held company, as its shareholders confirmed a December, 2011 $1.3 billion takeover by Thoma Bravo LLC, a private equity firm.

The acquisition brings Blue Coat full circle from 13 years ago when the company first became publicly-held during the dot.com era. Under terms of the agreement, Blue Coat shareholders receive $25.81 in cash per share of common stock held.

The acquiring group includes the Ontario (CAN) Teachers' Pension Plan through its private investor department, Teachers' Private Capital. Ontario is an independent organization responsible for investing the pension fund and administering the pensions of Ontario's 289,000 active and retired teachers.

“Under Thoma Bravo, we will benefit from a structure that will help us more aggressively realize the opportunities in the Web security and WAN optimization markets,” said Gregory S. Clark, Blue Coat president and chief executive.

Nearly two years ago, network security vendor SonicWall transitioned from a public to a private company after a $717 million buyout by Thoma Bravo, in a transaction similar to Blue Coat.

In May, 2010, Thoma Bravo also acquired Double-Take Software Inc., a maker of data recovery solutions, for about $242 million, and in March it acquired Plato Learning Inc., an online learning company, for about $143 million.

“Blue Coat will be an excellent addition to our portfolio of software and technology companies,” said Orlando Bravo, Thoma Bravo managing partner.

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